General Matthew Ridgway, a graduate of West Point, served in a variety of positions for the US military. In addition to being the Army Chief of Staff between 1953 and his retirement in 1955, Ridgway succeeded General Omar Bradley as commander the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II and led the XVIII Airborne Corps, which played a pivotal role in the Battle of the Bulge. He commanded the 8th Army in Korea, and eventually succeeded Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander of the UN and US forces in the Far East in 1951.